For the four remaining teams left in the CBA playoffs, the stakes simply could not be higher. After one of the tightest regular seasons in the history of Chinese basketball followed by a grueling quarterfinal round, the semifinals get underway on Wednesday.
On one side of the bracket is a dream matchup between two historic foes while on the other, one heavily favored team will be challenged by an underdog with no prior history in the postseason. Some compelling basketball is

With a triple-double of 14 points, 13 rebounds and 12 blocks on national TV, Miami Heat center Hassan Whiteside has shown that impactful midseason signings can be found in the strangest of places.
Whiteside was a 2010 second-round pick of the Sacramento Kings. He was waived by both the Kings in 2012 and the Memphis Grizzlies three months ago. In between, Whiteside was playing for Jiangsu Tongxi in the second tier of Chinese basketball.
With the regular season of the Chinese Basketball

From NBA bust to CBA folk hero, Shanghai Sharks import Michael Beasley is enjoying an incredible career renaissance in China.
The second overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft, Beasley is currently averaging 29.4 points and 10.4 rebounds. If that wasn’t impressive enough, on Sunday at the CBA All-Star Game in Beijing, Beasley scored a record 59 points. There are few players with quite so hot a hand as the former Miami and Minnesota forward, and given that he will soon

For the last three months, Emmanuel Mudiay hasn’t been able to cross the Guangdong Tigers’ locker room without first passing the cubicle of the team’s starting small forward, Zhu Fangyu.
Zhu is the Chinese Basketball Association’s all-time leading scorer and a fixture on China’s national team for over a decade. He is also known as the authority figure within the Guangdong roster that sizes up new arrivals and decides if they are serious enough about playing for China’s most successful team.
The

Lets talk about the New York Knicks.
By now, you all know that Phil Jackson fired Mike Woodson and hired Derek Fisher after failing to entice Steve Kerr to take the coaching job. You also know that the team’s roster still has plenty of familiar faces that played a role in what turned out to be a disastrous season last year, along with some key additions – most notably being Jose Calderon and Sam Dalembert. Carmelo Anthony, of course, re-signed with

Chris Paul returned to the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
We don’t want to be party-poopers, but it probably should be pointed out that the Clippers were better without him.
This does not mean that GM Gary Sacks should start exploring trade possibilities for a top-five player. And it doesn’t mean that coach Doc Rivers should go with the hot hand at point guard at the end of games.
But it does mean that if the Clippers want to win a championship this

Adam Silver is in a tough spot.
Silver became the NBA’s fifth commissioner on Saturday. He follows David Stern, whose 30 years as the league’s top executive likely will be unmatched by anyone in any sport.
Silver begins his term without facing a major problem that needs immediate fixing or a hot-button issue that requires immediate attention. With TV contracts running through 2016, labor peace assured until at least 2017 and most of the top stars in their 20s, the NBA is

Brain-twister for you today, folks.
Go back to the start of the 2005-06 regular season, and try to name a superstar player who has represented the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. Your answer cannot include LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo or Ray Allen.
It’s OK. Keep thinking …